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Generation of Computers
Generation of Computers
Introduction
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 GENERATION OF COMPUTERS
The first electronic computer was designed and built at the University of Pennsylvania based on vacuum tube technology. Vacuum tubes were used to perform logic operations and to store data. Generations of computers has been divided into five according to the development of technologies used to fabricate the processors, memories and I/O units.
Second Generation (Manufacturers IBM 7030, Digital Data Corporations PDP 1/5/8
Honeywell 400) Transistors were used in place of vacuum tubes. (invented at AT&T Bell lab in 1947) Small in size Lesser power consumption and better performance
Third Generation (System 360 Mainframe from IBM, PDP-8 Mini Computer from Digital Equipment Corporation) ICs were used Small Scale Integration and Medium Scale Integration technology were implemented in CPU, I/O processors etc. Smaller & better performance Comparatively lesser cost Faster processors In the beginning magnetic core memories were used. Later they were replaced by semiconductor memories (RAM & ROM) Introduced microprogramming Microprogramming, parallel processing (pipelining, multiprocessor system etc), multiprogramming, multi-user system (time shared system) etc were introduced. Operating system software were introduced (efficient sharing of a computer system by several user programs) Cache and virtual memories were introduced (Cache memory makes the main memory appear faster than it really is. Virtual memory makes it appear larger) High level languages were standardized by ANSI eg. ANSI FORTRAN, ANSI COBOL etc Database management, multi-user application, online systems like closed loop process control, airline reservation, interactive query systems, automatic industrial control etc emerged during this period. Fourth Generation (Intels 8088,80286,80386,80486 .., Motorolas 68000, 68030, 68040,
Apple II, CRAY I/2/X/MP etc) Microprocessors were introduced as CPU Complete processors and large section of main memory could be implemented in a single chip Tens of thousands of transistors can be placed in a single chip (VLSI design implemented) CRT screen, laser & ink jet printers, scanners etc were developed. Semiconductor memory chips were used as the main memory. Secondary memory was composed of hard disks Floppy disks & magnetic tapes were used for backup memory Parallelism, pipelining cache memory and virtual memory were applied in a better way LAN and WANS were developed (where desktop work stations interconnected) Introduced C language and Unix OS Introduced Graphical User Interface
Fifth Generation (IBM notebooks, Pentium PCs-Pentium 1/2/3/4/Dual core/Quad core.. SUN work stations, Origin 2000, PARAM 10000, IBM SP/2) Generation number beyond IV, have been used occasionally to describe some current computer system that have a dominant organizational or application driven feature. Computers based on artificial intelligence are available Computers use extensive parallel processing, multiple pipelines, multiple processors etc Massive parallel machines and extensively distributed system connected by communication networks fall in this category. Introduced ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology Intels Pentium 4 microprocessor contains 55 million transistors millions of components on a single IC chip. Superscalar processors, Vector processors, SIMD processors, 32 bit micro controllers and embedded processors, Digital Signal Processors (DSP) etc have been developed. Memory chips up to 1 GB, hard disk drives up to 180 GB and optical disks up to 27 GB are available (still the capacity is increasing) Object oriented language like JAVA suitable for internet programming has been developed. Portable note book computers introduced Storage technology advanced large main memory and disk storage available Introduced World Wide Web. (and other existing applications like e-mail, e Commerce, Virtual libraries/Classrooms, multimedia applications etc.) New operating systems developed Windows 95/98/XP/, LINUX, etc. Got hot pluggable features which enable a failed component to be replaced with a new one without the need to shutdown the system, allowing the uptime of the system to be very high. The recent development in the application of internet is the Grid technology which is still in its upcoming stage. Quantum mechanism and nanotechnology will radically change the phase of computers.
E.g.:- CRAY Research :- CRAY-1 & CRAY-2, Fujitsu (VP2000), Hitachi (S820), NEC (SX20), PARAM 10000 by C-DAC, Anupam by BARC, PACE Series by DRDO Most powerful Computer system - needs a large room Minimum world length is 64 bits CPU speed: 100 MIPS Equivalent to 4000 computers High cost: 4 5 millions Able to handle large amount of data High power consumption High precision
1. Super Computers
Applications In petroleum industry - to analyze volumes of seismic data which are gathered during oil seeking explorations to identify areas where there is possibility of getting petroleum products inside the earth In Aerospace industry - to simulate airflow around an aircraft at different speeds and altitude. This helps in producing an effective aerodynamic design for superior performance In Automobile industry to do crash simulation of the design of an automobile before it is released for manufacturing for better automobile design In structural mechanics to solve complex structural engineering problems to ensure safety, reliability and cost effectiveness. Eg. Designer of a large bridge has to ensure that the bridge must be proper in various atmospheric conditions and pressures from wind, velocity etc and under load conditions. Meteorological centers use super computers for weather forecasting In Biomedical research atomic nuclear and plasma analysis to study the structure of viruses such as that causing AIDS For weapons research and development, sending rockets to space etc
E.g.:- IBM 3000 series, Burroughs B7900, Univac 1180, DEC Able to process large amount of data at very high speed Supports multi-user facility Number of processors varies from one to six. Cost: 3500 to many million dollars Kept in air conditioned room to keep them cool Supports many I/O and auxiliary storage devices Supports network of terminals
USERS ROOM
(Entry restricted to authorized persons)
SYSTEM ROOM
(Entry restricted to system Administrators & maintenance staff)
Plotter
Front-end Processor
User Terminals
3. Mini Computers
E.g.:- Digital Equipments PDP 11/45 and VAX 11) Perform better than micros Large in size and costlier than micros Designed to support more than one user at a time Posses large storage capacities and operates at higher speed Support faster peripheral devices like high speed printers Can also communicate with main frames
Applications These computers are used when the volume of processing is large for e.g. Data processing for a medium sized organization Used to control and monitor production processes To analyze results of experiments in laboratories Used as servers in LANs (Local Area Networks)
4. Micro Computers
E.g.:- IBM PC, PS/2 and Apple Macintosh A microcomputer uses a microprocessor as its central Processing Unit. Microcomputers are tiny computers that can vary in size from a single chip to the size of a desktop model They are designed to be used by only one person at a time Small to medium data storage capacities 500MB 2GB The common examples of microcomputers are chips used in washing machines, TVs, Cars and Note book/Personal computers.
Applications Used in the field of desktop publishing, accounting, statistical analysis, graphic designing, investment analysis, project management, teaching, entertainment etc The different models of microcomputers are given below:a) Personal computers:- The name PC was given by the IBM for its microcomputers. PCs are used for word processing, spreadsheet calculations, database management etc. b) Note book or Lap Top:- Very small in terms of size can be folded and carried around Monitor is made up of LCD and the keyboard and system units are contained in a single box. Got all the facilities of a personal computer (HDD, CDD, Sound card, N/W card, Modem etc) and a special connection to connect to the desktop PC which can be used to transfer data. c) Palm Top:- Smaller model of the microcomputer- size is similar to that of a calculator pocket size- It has a processor and memory and a special connection to connect to the desktop PC which can be used to transfer data. d) Wrist PC:- Smallest type of microcomputer can be worn on our wrist like a watch- It has a processor and memory and a wireless modem
Super Computers
fast
Micro Computers
Input Unit
Primary Storage
Output Unit
Information (Result)
Control Unit
ALU
MEMORY UNIT
The memory unit stores program and data. There are two classes of memory devices :Primary memory and Secondary memory.
Secondary storage
They are used when large amount of data have to be stored (also when frequent access is not necessary) E.g. Hard Disk, Compact Disk, Floppy Disk, Magnetic Tapes etc.
PROCESSOR UNIT
The heart of the computer system is the Processor unit. It consists of Arithmetic and Logic Unit and Control Unit.
Control Unit
The control unit and ALUs are usually many times faster than other devices connected to a computer system. This enabled a single processor to control a number of external devices such as video terminals, magnetic taped, disk memories, sensors, displays and mechanical controllers which are much slower than the processor.
OUTPUT UNIT
Counter part of input unit Output devices accept binary data from the computer - decodes it into original form and supplies this result to the outside world. E.g. Printer, Video terminals (provides both input & output functions), graphic displays etc
Basic Operational Concepts: Activity in a computer is governed by instructions To perform a given task, a set of instructions called program must be there in the main memory Individual instructions are brought from the memory into the processor which executes the specific operation. Data to be used as operands are also stored in the memory.
E.g. Add LOCA, R0 This instruction adds the operand at the memory location LOCA to the operand in the Processor R0 and places the sum into the register R0. Here the original contents of LOCA are preserved whereas those of R0 are overwritten. Steps:1. Instruction is fetched from the main memory into the processor Memory access 2. Operand at LOCA is fetched operation 3. Add the contents to the contents of R0 4. Finally store the result in R0 ALU operation
Note: Data transfer between the main memory and the processor are started by sending the address of the memory location to be accessed to the memory unit and issuing the appropriate control signal by the control unit.
MAR
MDR CONTROL
PC
Ro R1
. .
IR Rn-1
n general purpose registers
ALU
Fig: Processor
Steps involved during operation:1. Program is stored in the main memory 2. PC is set to point to the first instruction of the program 3. Contents of the PC are transferred to the MAR and a Read Control signal sent to the memory 4. After the access time, the addressed word (in this case the first instruction) is read out of the memory and is loaded into the MDR 5. Contents of the MDR are transferred to the IR. Now the instruction is ready to be decoded and executed. 6. If the instruction involves an operation to be performed by the ALU, the required operands are to be fetched from the memory (or CPU registers). This is done by sending its address to the MAR and initiating a Read cycle.
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